SMO takes it all the way with This One’s For You. He calls it “Smo 2.0” and explains, “My last two albums came from having the freedom to be different from what people expected, but with this album my goal was to make something legendary for my fans.”
SMO’s “Kinfoke” are the heart of this project. “My motivation has changed. I’m not driven by success or finances. It’s more about happiness these days.” He is no longer fueled by competition and when his fans kept saying they missed the old SMO, he couldn’t ignore that.
The album cover for This One’s For You is a photo of three-year old SMO. “It’s a picture of me when I was crawling out of a window and my mom caught me,” he chuckles. “It captures everything that I am- an innocent little dude with my shirt off, hair blowing in the wind, and a big smile on my face. When you’re that young, you can’t fake who you are.”
To recapture the energy of his early work, SMO assembled the right team. David Ray, who produced the album, also co-wrote and sang on several tracks. SMO says, “D-Ray is an amazing guy. He runs a highly productive operation at Dammit Boy Entertainment and is a veteran member of the group I4NI. He was able to bring back my original producer DJ Orig. Having Orig back in the pocket and D-Ray behind the wheel created the perfect atmosphere for a musical masterpiece.”
One of SMO’s favorite tracks on the album Tear Da Mud Up, a collaboration with Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul, is a blend of electronic techno and country rap. Inspired by the variety of music at mud bogs, SMO found the sweet spot between rap and electronic music. “We wanted to make a country rap, dubstep record which has never been done. I call it mudstep.”
The album opens with Boss 2.0. It’s been a decade since Boss of the Stix, and SMO is back to let you know he’s still the King of the Country. Bone Splitta featuring Cypress Spring is an anthem for outdoorsmen. Lenny Cooper appears on Dirty Girl, a fun song about country women.
Other tracks include Summer Song, an upbeat sing-along about all things summer, Colorado Bound featuring Afroman, and Walked On which SMO describes as a track of reckoning for the haters.
The album’s title track This One’s For You is a song of encouragement to overcome obstacles, addiction, and depression to find the light at the end of the tunnel and true happiness. Ready to Fly is the last of a sort of song “trilogy” SMO designed following two earlier releases, See You on the Other Side and Fly Away. SMO explains that Ready to Fly is about the closure and acceptance that all things eventually come to an end.
In addition to the new album, SMO will release his autobiography in the Fall of 2019. His memoir My Life In A Jar: The Book Of SMO is filled with tales of SMO’s childhood, stories from his early years as a freshman artist, and a behind the scenes look at the reality show. A light-hearted, funny read, SMO’s book is guaranteed to leave you wanting more.